General Epidemiology
Category archives for General Epidemiology
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 5: Nail in the coffin
Posted by Tara C. Smith on August 24, 2012 Despite its reputation as a scourge of antiquity, Yersinia pestis–the bacterium that causes bubonic plague–still causes thousands of human illnesses every year. In modern times, most of these occur in Africa, and to a lesser extent in Asia, though we have a handful of cases each year in the U.S as well. When Y. pestis…
Ebola: Back in the DRC
Posted by Tara C. Smith on August 18, 2012 August, 1976. A new infection was causing panic in Zaire. Hospitals became death zones, as both patients and medical staff succumbed to the disease. Reports of nightmarish symptoms trickled in to scientists in Europe and the US, who sent investigators to determine the cause and stem the epidemic. Concurrently, they would find out, the same…
Ebola resurfaces in Uganda–history and analyses of Ugandan Ebola
Posted by Tara C. Smith on July 30, 2012 Uganda just can’t catch a break. They’ve recently been hit with nodding disease, a mysterious syndrome where children repeatedly nod their heads and undergo serious seizures, typically leading to death. Now they’re in the grips of story notes that “The site where most of the cases occurred are close to Kibale forest where there are…
Using zombies to teach science
Posted by Tara C. Smith on July 16, 2012 With my colleague Greg Tinkler, I spent an afternoon last week at a local public library talking to kids about zombies: The Zombie Apocalypse is coming. Will you be ready? University of Iowa epidemiologist Dr. Tara Smith will talk about how a zombie virus might spread and how you can prepare. Get a list of…
Summer reading: memoirs in global health and field epidemiology
Posted by Tara C. Smith on July 9, 2012 I know summer is winding down, but there’s still plenty of beach time left and some great books to take along with you. Two giants in the field have recently released memoirs of their respective fights against infectious diseases: William Foege’s House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox and Peter Piot’s No Time to…
Here come the ticks: is global warming leading to an increase in Lyme disease?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 23, 2012 This is the last of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Jessica Waters. Climatologists have been warning us about the ongoing and impending consequences of global warming for years. But the results of climate change affect more than just polar bears and penguins – if you live anywhere in the northeastern, north-central or west coast states of the…
Is history repeating itself?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 22, 2012 This is the fifteenth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Cassie Klostermann. One of the major accomplishments that public health professionals pride themselves in is the reduction of people getting sick or dying from preventable infectious diseases. Unfortunately, these debilitating, historic diseases that health professionals had once thought they had under control are starting to rear their…
Concerned about Crypto?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 22, 2012 This is the fourteenth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Caroline Rauschendorfer. Cryptosporidiosis, known more commonly as crypto, is a gastrointestinal (GI) disease caused by parasites of the Cryptosporidium genus. If infected with crypto you may experience diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal cramps that can last up to two weeks. Definitely something you want to avoid,…
Going out with a Bangs: Control of Human Brucellosis by means of an Animal Vaccine
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 22, 2012 This is the thirteenth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Jessica Ludvik. One Disease, Many Species Brucellosis, more commonly known as undulant fever in humans or bangs disease in cattle, is one of the oldest bacterial scourges of livestock-producing nations, especially those in which the animals live in close proximity with the human population. The disease…
Coexisting with Coyotes
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 21, 2012 This is the twelfth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Stanley Corbin. Disease in wildlife is an important concern to the health and safety of humans and domestic animals. The expanding growth of our nation and resultant land use changes with urbanization has resulted in a shrinking habitat and fragmentation for all animals, including humans. The…